In the newly released 2023 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) is among the top 10 best public schools in the nation for its overall Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs, out of 601 accredited nursing schools surveyed.
UMSON’s DNP program is ranked at No. 4 among public schools of nursing (No. 13 among all ranked schools), and the MSN program is ranked at No. 9 among public schools (No. 21 among all ranked schools). UMSON’s top-ranked DNP specialties among all ranked schools include:
- Family Nurse Practitioner (No. 4)
- Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (No. 5)
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (No. 5)
- Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (No. 6)
- Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner/Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (No. 9).
Among public schools of nursing, UMSON ranked No. 1 in the nation for the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP) DNP specialties. The school’s FNP specialty is offered both in Baltimore and at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, Maryland, an effort to expand FNP education to better meet the needs of nurses and to prepare them to practice in underserved areas in the western, more rural portion of the state. UMSON’s AGPCNP specialty is focused on providing care to adolescent and adult patients, ages 13 and up, in addition to an expanding senior population. UMSON’s FNP and AGPCNP programs boast a 100 percent pass rate on the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board exam for its 2021 graduates.
UMSON also ranked in the top 3 among public schools of nursing for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (No. 2), Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (No. 2), and Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner/Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (No. 3).
“It is gratifying to continue to be recognized nationally for our Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs,” said Jane M. Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing. “We continue to play a vital role in efforts within Maryland and nationally to increase the number of nurses with advanced education at the master’s and doctoral level. We believe this is essential to ensuring that our graduates are well-prepared to meet the needs of patients and their families at a time when the health care system is increasingly complex with a growing percentage of older adults and a far more diverse population overall.”
The U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on a variety of indicators, including student selectivity and program size, faculty resources, and research activity, and on survey data from deans of schools of nursing that are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.